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The Sovereignty in HALO's Universe
'Sovereignty & HALO' The Halo franchise has captured my imagination as few things have. I guess because of it's Originality, and the richly-detailed Universe, the back-history and that it's a tale of War, Humanity and ultimately Hope. Like others, I have a mind that longs to wander and play in other's sandboxes, but with Respect, as it's Unthinkable to damage the franchises that I love so much. This means a LOT of nit-picking work to be sure I do no harm to Canon and Continuity. But the Galaxy, is a big place. 'Galactic History (Alternate)' Selinianity has a history spanning 150 Millennia, and they were an interstellar presence of some note back in the days when The Forerunners were the main force in the Galaxy, and the two had their conflicts with each other. Because of the Unique way in which Selinianity began, and that they had The Prime Mother, Lyllith, to guide them for 2 Millenia, they achieved in a very short span of time what took other species tens of millenia to achieve. By the time the Forerunners knew of Selinianity's existence, they were too powerful to try dominating as the Forerunners had all other species and were alarmed at the level of technological sophistication in addition to how utterly unfamiliar Selinian technology was. However, there were numerous Incidents and Conflicts between Forerunners and Selinianity in the times leading to the Human-Forerunner and Foreunner-Flood Wars. 'Selinian & Foreunner Relations' Given how Forerunners viewed the Galaxy and all other lifeforms in it, and that Selinians had a very 'opposite' view on the Galaxy, it was inevitable that the two civilizations would conflict with each other. Selinianity held to a perspective of Naturalism and Liberty, that Life needed no over-arching 'authority' and that Liberty and freedom were the primary Innate Birthrights of all Life. The Forerunners, holding to the perspective of The Mantle needless to say found Selinian views to be heretical. Selinianity in-turn saw the Forerunners as Authoritarian and tyrannical, opposing them from the initial contact with the Forerunners and with increasing aggressiveness. While outright war was averted, it was only because Selinianity was really only interested in defensive operations and in keeping Forerunner influence out of their space. Focussed as they were on Defensive Operations there was really never any grounds for a War to get started as the Forerunners knew that they were the ones instigating things by repeatedly testing the patience of Selinianity. What the Forerunners didn't know was that the Human-Forerunner War saved them from a backlash against the Forerunners by Selinianity that would have been unlike anything the Forerunners could have conceived of. 'The War That Never Was' Shortly before the start of the Human-Forerunner War, Selinianity had been preparing to deliver a single, massive strike to the Ecumene that would have utterly destroyed Forerunner dominance in the Galaxy. What the Forerunners were facing was a species artificially-evolved from Predator stock, and one that practiced a pass-fail/die Adulthood rite that every Selinian underwent at age 14. Selinians are Patient, and had been studying the Forerunners for a long time, ad had so charted the Forerunner's psychology and technology that they had achieved a position from which they could have succeeded in a Decapitation-Strike. In short, the Forerunners were about to face every Selinian over the age of 14 in War, instead of a discrete Military. The magnitude of this is easy to underestimate, but as Selinianity had been spreading out, Seliniforming worlds, then star systems, bringing about Garden Worlds from lifeless rocks, they're population had been growing to suit. Selinians are born with an arsenal of bodyweapons, thus they are a naturally Armed species and personal weapons are very much the norm, notably the Ta'Zaakelh. Thus, every Selinian over the age of 14 is Armed with unspeakably lethal bodyweapons but the vast majority possess and wear Ta'Zakelh. 'Sideline Observors' (The Human-Forerunner War) When the Forerunners mistakenly went to War with Humanity, Selinianity was already aware of Humanity, from a few very tense Contact Incidents. All Selinianity really knew about Humanity was they held a large Empire and seemed somewhat paranoid and highly-aggressive. Selinianity wrote it off to Humans behaving with appropriate care and caution as they had done in similar manner and were quite prepared to relate on a similar level of aggression if they pushed first. Thus, Selinianity was unaware of the reason of Humanity's behaviour in-general: The Human-Flood War. When the Human-Forerunner War ignited, Selinianity stayed out of it. The issue wasn't all that clear and they made some mistaken assumptions as had the Forerunners about what Humanity had been doing when the Forerunners declared War. 'Secrets Found & Threats Revealed' During the period of time between the Human-Flood War/Human-Forerunner War and the Forerunner-Flood War the Sovereignty had been dispatching many scientific missions into Humanity's defeated Empire to seek out any and all Archeological evidence of Humanity's Civilization and History. Needless to say, the Forerunners weren't very tolerant of such, and while Forerunner forces were very hesitant to provoke a War with a species that hadn't been exhausted by War and had been growing largely Unnoticed during the Human-Forerunner War, and with a fully-fresh ready and willing Military in reserve with a lot of experience as Selinianity often fought amongst itself as much or more than any other agressive species. 'Pride Goes Before The Fall' Selinianity managed to piece together a lot of evidence about Humanity, and carefully preserved it all. In the course of studying much of the information found amonst civilian possessions (including those from University scholars and such) was evidence of what had driven Humanity into provoking the Forerunners--then discovered that if the Forerunners had bothered to try communicating instead of blindly going to War, Humanity would have survived, but a War would have been avoided and The Flood wiped out. Alarmed, the Sovereignty Military opened a Research project to model data based off all the info they had from what they had seen of the Wars and raking through every scrap of info they had about Humanity. In some old reports filed with Insurance industry and related info, they found evidence of ships being stolen, failing to make port, yet not being reported as destroyed. Then realized that the Tactic was horribly familiar. In 2 major wars against non-Selinian species, Selinianity had sent 'Arks' out beyond the Galaxy's edge to wait out the conflict and if need-be, to rebuild the Selinian Species and Civilization. The Flood had undoubtedly done the same. When the Sovereignty tried to make the Forerunners aware of it, it was dismissed as wartime-Propaganda and such, with the Sovereignty delgates being nearly laughed out of Forerunner Space. 'Conspiracies Only Need Be Proven Once' The Sovereignty saw a storm on the horizon that might not come for some length of years, but nontheless, they saw it well enough that the Sovereignty began changing it's security protocols in and immediately around the Sovereignty, as well as assisting Sovereignty Systems in upgrading as well. The Forerunners took note of such in their long-range and risky Covert Intell/Surveillance, but simply ascribed it to their nighbours having finally learned to properly fear the Forerunners Wrath after the Example made of Humanity and it's Empire. 'Time Makes Fools Of Us All' When the Forerunners finally encountered The Flood, Selinianity had already solidly braced itself for what was coming, that they're tried to warn the Forerunners about. Selinianity had also been engaged in hunting down what Extragalactic Arks they could that had been proven to be a Fact during one incident during a failed Incursion into Sovereignty space. The Forerunners encountered The Flood, and immediately upon Selinianity suspecting such (from disruptions in observed Civilian traffic pattern and Covert Surveillance of Forerunner Military Comms) the Sovereignty was on a complete War footing with Sovereignty Military operating alongside System Militias. Selinianity knew what kind of Threat they were facing, and were prepared to fight the Forerunners simultaneously with The Flood...and Starsword-carrying vessels were assigned locales ideal for such an event. 'Selinian-Forerunner Relations During the War' During the War, the Sovereignty conserved it's forces by not offering any support to the embattled Forerunners, but did conduct their Intel and Surveillance missions to keep themselves updated on what was going on, and also acquire every scrap of useful information that would help them survive. Ark Fleets were doubled to 2 launchings per Century, and the Sovereignty Military grew as the Sovereignty didn't halt the steady expansion of itself and helped every star system keep their System Surveillance/Interceptor Networks up-to-date, and ensured not a single alien vessel survived crossing into Sovereignty space long enough to regret it, let alone cause trouble. In the course of the War, Selinianity worked on it's own to preserve what it could of worlds who had yet to be consumed by The Flood and built Installation Habitats similar to the HALO rings and Ark although such were purely intended as population shelters to preserve Selinianity and it's Civilization. The Primary Habitat located above the Galaxy's north pole, fifty thousand LY above the center of the Galaxy was designated Adamantine Redoubt, and was built like two Forerunner Ark-type installations attached back to back. Equipped with Hyperdimensional FtL 'Jump' drives the Primary Habitats, like the smaller ring-shaped Secondary Habitats were capable of repositioning themselves if needed. The Forerunners noted the activity of the Sovereignty, and said little about it, occupied as they were in battling the Flood. What was known after an ill-fated Forerunner attempt at close-range surveillance was that the area of space out to five light-seconds around any Sovereignty Habitat was instant death without warning to any non-Selinian vessel. Each and every Habitat had a multi-layered and exceedingly formidable Defense Network protecting it. The Sovereignty isolated itself from the rest of the Galaxy, and only vessels operated by Machine Intelligences were permitted to leave Sovereignty space and return as they ranged the depths and continued to build support infrastructure like mining, automated research stations and the like outside Sovereignty space. Some of these were given towards analysis of The Flood and studying Precursor artifacts and ruins. Flood Research facilities were fully automated and utterly inhospitable to life, orbitting hot, blue giant stars. In the event a problem occured, the facility could be dropped into the star. Long Range sensors and Covert Surveillance kept the Sovereignty aware and informed as to how badly things were going for the Forerunners...and alerted the Sovereignty to a horror against which The Flood paled to insignificance. 'Desperate Times and Desperate Measures' Upon learning of the Forerunners intent to deploy weapon systems that would eradicate all life in the Galaxy above the microorganism level, Selinianity wasted no time trying to argue with the Forerunners, instead the Machine Intelligences began analysis work to ferret out what the Forerunners were building and how to shield against it. Most alarmingly was how little time there was before projections showed that the Forerunners would indeed use the weapon. It took time, and in the end, only one world could be protected, and even then imperfectly. The homeworld of Selinianity was hastily englobed in a satellite network that would generate the experimental shield and became an Ark-World, even as all the Habitats jumped well clear of the Galaxy, some out to a million LY away to wait out the coming storm. Many sought refuge aboard military vessels that jumped well clear of the Galaxy laden with supplies and protecting support fleets. Then, the Forerunners activated the Array and sterilized the Galaxy. 'The Sovereignty & The Post-Activation Galaxy' The Effect swept through Sovereignty space as it did all other space, and instantaneously exterminated all life more advanced than a flatworm. Forerunners, Flood, Selinians, and countless billions of other species were swept from the Galactic stage in a cataclysmic instant. Outside the range of the Effect, those who'd fled, watched the entire Galaxy glow with a consuming fire of exotic radiation and mourned the unspeakable loss of life. When the Effect had waned and faded to nothing, they returned, to the only world with Life still on it--the Homeworld and others headed for the Habitats, unwilling to face the annhilation wrought by the Forerunners. The experimental shield protecting the Homeworld had worked, but imperfectly, and millions died in agony, slowly. However billions survived. The Machine Intelligences helped their organic counterparts as the shocked species recovered and started to collect itself and set about rebuilding and in this time the Sovereignty truly became a Hybrid Civilization. The Galaxy was Quiet now though...all that stirred was either Selinian or the automated reconstructor vessels of the Forerunners that the Sovereignty did not interfere with. Selinianity had plenty of work to keep itself busy with, rebuilding the ecosystems of all the Seliniformed worlds and natural worlds in the Sovereignty, resettling them, and rebuilding it's population. Out of nearly a trillion Selinians, only five billion and some had survived. 'Selinian Technology & Sciences' As survivors of the greatest cataclysm in galactic history, Selinian sciences and technology never underwent a fall or regression, but for a very long time progress all but totally halted as the species was busy with reclamation efforts and there was little impetus for progress and improvement thus what technology and such existed up to that point underwent a prolonged period of refinement instead. However, while progress had slowed to a crawl, it did not halt entirely and it was more a time of consolidation and such regarding progress made to the point just prior to the HALO Activation. However, in time, the creative spirit and drive arose again, driven by new needs and challenges and technological progress picked up and marched on. New explorations of the Galaxy began, and enormous Multisprectral Optical and Radiometric/Quantum Interferometric telescopes were set up outside the Galaxy to peer deeper into the Universe's secrets and depths. Progress continued, new technologies developed and previous ones refined to their apotheosis and the Sovereignty was largely untroubled aside from incidents between Sovereignty star systems now and then, and scientists watched the worlds the Forerunners had re-seeded without interfering in them. Some missions were sent into Forerunner space, to study what they'd left behind, but otherwise they disturbed the remnants of their fallen neighbour's realm as little as possible. Portions of formerly Forerunner space and Human Empire space gradually came under under the Sovereignty as it continued to grow, but slower now than before. 'Overview of Selinian Technology' Selinian technology developed independently of the Precursors and Forerunners and some is very distinct in both operating physics and principles, and is both phenomenally powerful, yet amazingly subtle. 'Particle/Antiparticle Synthesis' VARIES Instead of carrying around immense fuel tanks of volatile and dangerous antimatter, Sovereignty vessels make use of a system based on M-AM Particle Synthesis. However, due to immense refinement and a very in-depth knowledge of Quantum and Particle Physics, the process used aboard their vessels operates in the Kilowatt-range and produces useful amounts of fuel in short spans of time, typically a Kg/minute under normal circumstances but can reach 1 Kg/sec when brought to the Megawatt range.